12 Monkeys: Madeleine Stowe tapped for special season 2 role — exclusive

Syfy’s 12 Monkeys is getting a blast from the past in season 2 by adding a familiar face from the 1995 film: Revenge alum Madeleine Stowe will guest-star in the season finale, EW has learned exclusively.

In a nice twist from the movie — in which she originated the role of levelheaded Dr. Railly, now played by Amanda Schull — this time, she’s the crazy one. “It’s her switching roles from what she did in the film,” says executive producer Terry ­Matalas of the homage. “She appears in a mental asylum in the late ’50s.”

But viewers will actually hear Stowe before they see her, as she voices the opening montage of the April 18 premiere. “She’s the one telling the story about how the world ends,” Matalas teases. “The season finale opens very much like our season opener does with the story of the end of the world, only now we’ll understand it all and she will play a part.”

“Madeleine has always been really supportive of the show ever since she saw the pilot,” Matalas says. “We always knew we wanted her to be involved in the show, but if we had the right role and if it was something profound and meaningful to our characters and mythology.”

In fact, Stowe’s character, Lillian, will play pivotal role in our hero Cole’s (Aaron Stanford) journey. “When Cole meets her, he’s in a very different place in his life than we’ve ever seen him. She’s going to deliver some very bad news, but she’s also going to give him some sage advice that our time traveler will desperately need,” Matalas says. “She’s like 12 Monkeys’ Obi-Wan Kenobi, but far more insidious.”

12 Monkeys will return Monday, April 18 at 9 p.m. ET on Syfy.

A version of this story originally appeared in Entertainment Weekly issue #1405, on newsstands now.